The Objective One

"Certainly you have opinions – all human beings have their personal opinions. But it is the ideal of journalism that we strive for objectivity so we can best present the positions of people around all parts of the debate to our public so the public can make their own decisions about these issues."  This quote by NPR CEO Vivian Schiller, found in the article at http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Editorial-Board-Blog/2010/1022/Juan-Williams-firing-Does-journalism-need-more-objectivity-or-more-transparency, seems to bring us full circle back to the first day of class when we discussed that the purpose of the journalist is to inform the public so that they are capable of making their own decisions.  Apparently, the key to a journalist fulfilling this obligation is through objectivity. As an aspiring journalist, I suppose that first I, along with other aspiring journalists, ought to first understand what objectivity is.  According to our book, The Elements of Journalism, the new definition of objectivity includes thoroughness, accuracy, and fairness.  Objectivity encompasses a sort of reporting in which you simply show people your facts – you then allow them to make discoveries for themselves. 

I find myself wondering, however, if objectivity is really possible.  I found this quote by David Brooks to be quite interesting: “I think there is truth out there and that objectivity is like virtue; it’s the thing you always fall short of, but the thing you always strive toward.”  (See the article at http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/media/me0054.html)  I also thought it was interesting to compare the ways that Brooks’ article with the ones the group presented to us in class.  The presentation gave us points such as never adding anything that was not originally there, never deceiving the audience, being as transparent as possible, relying on our own original reporting, and exercising humility.  Brooks, on the other hand, gave steps for objectivity including suspending judgement while looking at the facts, being modest, being able to process data, being able to betray friends, being able to overlook stereotypes, and being willing to sometimes be a little dull. Personally, I find that the steps from the book seem to be a little more predictable and doable.  Brooks tips are sort of nerve-wracking but plausible. 

Yet, it makes me wonder how objective I really want to be.  Do I really want to be able to betray my friends?  I certainly do not want to be dull.  But, this is the calling I have chosen in life, one that might just require some betrayal and occasionally a lack of excitement in my writing.  By no means do I expect myself to be perfect, but like everything else, even when objectivity is the last thing I want to strive towards, I will have the ever-burning desire to be successful, and therefore, to my editor’s delight, I will find my ways to be objective.